Internal struggles

Not too many people understand the struggles that occur at home when you’re the first one to go to college in your family. Leading up to the moment when I made my decision about what school I was going to attend my family was neither supportive nor held back by the idea. Like many first generation college student’s, going away to college is not just a transition that effects the student but the family as well. In my head I had this image of my family celebrating every college acceptance letter I received, that was far from the truth. Instead every acceptance I received was a reflection of my hard work paying off but in the eyes of my family I was making a big decision that they believe I was not ready for. For my family it would be ideal for me to attend a community college and stay at home. Like many first generation families it is hard to let go of the “norm” and accept something new. My decision to go far away from home was a slap in my families face because they thought I didn’t want to be around them. Little do they know that I am going away to grow as an individual and to make them proud. Many families see this as a threat because no one has ever gone to college, in my family all they knew was hard labor.